A file photo of UP CM Yogi Adityanath. Several PILs have been filed in the Allahabad high court by lawyers, social activists demanding a judicial probe and stern action against those responsible for the Gorakhpur tragedy. Photo: Hindustan Times

Allahabad: The Allahabad high court on Friday sought the Uttar Pradesh government’s response on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial inquiry into the recent deaths of children at a state-run BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur.

A division bench comprising chief justice D.B. Bhosle and Justice Yashwant Verma asked the state government to file a counter affidavit on the PIL and fixed 289 August as the next date of hearing.

The court’s Lucknow bench, meanwhile, directed the state government and the director general of medical education to file a detailed counter affidavit within six weeks on another PIL and fixed 9 October as the next date of hearing.

The bench of justices Vikram Nath and Daya Shankar Tiwari passed the order on the PIL filed by activist Nutan Thakur after hearing her, advocate general Raghavendra Pratap Singh and Medical Education Counsel Sanjay Bhasin.

The advocate general opposed the petition, saying the state government has taken every possible measure in the matter and shall take all possible action as per the report submitted by the chief secretary.

Thakur contended that the action of the state government so far gave a message that it was trying to hide facts and shield the guilty.

Several PILs have been filed in the high court by lawyers and social activists demanding a judicial probe and stern action against those responsible for the tragedy.

The petitioners have alleged carelessness on the part of doctors at BRD Medical College Hospitals led to the tragedy. They said encephalitis has been claiming lives of children in Gorakhpur and adjoining eastern UP districts for several years but no effective steps have been taken to curb the outbreak of the disease